Chicken Teriyaki Panini

Ramadaan is hardly a month away and soon all cooking shows on T.V will be flooded with sehr and iftar recipes. Personally I don’t feel the need of special recipes…. what we usually eat during non-Ramadaan days is ok during Ramadaan too. May we all be blessed enough this year to get the maximum benefits of this Holy month for our duniya and akhira, Ameen. I have been working ahead and keeping stuff ready to be posted during Ramadaan In Sha Allah.

Since Ramadaan will be in peak summers this year (and next and next and…) healthy and refreshing drinks are going to be my focal point. Posting a couple of blogs on drinks wasn’t that random you see. This panini is also a suggestion for sehr and iftar. Use pita bread or shawarma bread or bread rolls or simple bread. If you don’t own a panini press you can get the appearance using a grill pan or make them in sandwich press or just toast some bread.

ingredients:

for chicken:

250 gm boneless chicken, cut in small pieces

1 tsp cooking oil

1 tbsp soya sauce

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper powder

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 tbsp oil

1/4 cup water

for teriyaki sauce:

2 tbsp cooking oil

3-4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

1/3 cup soya sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 tsp cornflour

salt and pepper to taste

for assembly:

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 medium tomato, deseeded and finely chopped

1 small cucumber, finely chopped

1 small capsicum, chopped

3/4 – 1 cup shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese

pita bread as required

method:

Place chicken in a medium bowl; add soya sauce, cooking oil, salt, pepper, red chilli powder and garlic. Mix well to coat chicken evenly. Transfer into a container with lid and keep refrigerated for at least an hour. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wok or frying pan and add chicken mixture; cook on medium high flame, stirring after 30-40 seconds of intervals, until the chicken is slightly brown and all liquids are almost dried up. It would take around 3-5 minutes. Add water and after a boil lower the flame and let it simmer for another 4-5 minutes. Once the chicken is done remove it from the stove.

In a small sauce pan heat oil on low flame and add chopped garlic; saute for few seconds. make sure the garlic does not change it’s color. Add soya sauce and brown sugar. Mix together corn flour and water. Add to the pan, stirring constantly until the sauce has thickened. Remove from stove and add cooked chicken. Mix well and let it cool down a bit.

For assembly, place pita bread on a plate, place 2 tbsp of chicken mixture ( depends on the size of the bread), chopped vegetable and sprinkle shredded cheese. Fold and place in panini press and heat according to desired level. Serve hot.